Can you pick? 3 pretty apartments up for a prize...

Posted by Mr Wong at 11:34 AM 0

Skona Hem holds a monthly contest where readers can vote on the most inspiring homes of other readers... I decided to compile some of the entries here to see what you guys thought!

House A: bright, open, and airy





House B: comfy, feminine, and cheerful







House C: luxurious, textural, elegant:




I'm so glad purple has been getting the love it deserved recently!


I'm leaning towards B because it feels a little warmer to me, and more realistic to maintain. I'm open to persuasion though!
via Skona Hem

I'll be back soon! I'm going to visit a place like this...

Posted by Mr Wong at 6:23 PM 0

I'm off to Florida you guys! I'm taking a much needed long weekend to visit one of my sisters and relax on the beach. So, I'm leaving you with ways to add some light-hearted, tropical air to your space.

oh...this is so me... natural wood tones and white

via the beautiful blog, this is glamorous




West Elm(top)/Pottery Barn ( 2 bottom) via Material Girls

Material Girls gave some really good advice on achieving this look:

• Rattan or wicker furniture
• Wood flooring
• Natural area rug- seagrass or sisal
• Mixing lots of texture and pattern is a must!
• Comfort is key- large upholstered furniture in preferably white or off white will give it a fresh, clean, and crisp look
• Animal prints!!!!
• A few leather pieces
• Try to stick with these colors- pale yellows, browns, golds, beiges, natural greens that have more yellow in them, soothing blues, whites, and splashes of red, black, and chocolate brown
• Wood furniture
• Lanterns
• Bamboo shades for your windows
• Table setting- they have these great round textured placemats at Crate and Barrel/ C&B Outlet or you could do wooden bowls
• Large floor vase with bamboo sticks
• A candle in a glass container with water rocks/stones
• Wood bowl with real fruit

But if you want more of a beach/nautical look, here are some of my favorite accessories:

• Faux coral- I can't say enough about it, I have a piece of it in my Living Room that I bought at Crate and Barrell and it just makes my coffee table.
• Extra large clam shells- I know we have done a high low feature on this before, but you can find them everywhere these days- they are very in style!
• Anything dark blue and white
• Stripes are always nice for this
• How about putting starfish in a bowl or in a jar?
• Shells on a stand or in a glass bowl
• A glass apothecary jar filled with sand...my mom (who inspires me every day!) has been collecting sand from the different beaches she has visisted while on vacation for the past I don't know how many years- she then puts the sand in different glass jars and labels them where they came from. It makes a really cute display and a great conversation starter about all of your travels!

Tips via Material Girls (more great info to be had)

via Home Decorating Reviews






Tropical island architectural genius! I love the use of stone! It must make the home feel so cool when coming in from the beach.

viazlgdesign

Airy, calm, coastal interiors

Posted by Mr Wong at 12:20 PM 0

These interiors make me want to be at the beach sitting on a patio with a warm breeze. I just went up on the roof to get some fresh air, but unfortunately the breeze off the Hudson wasn't quite what I was looking for.

All these spaces are the genius of Tim Clarke, Inc., a Santa Barbara interior design firm.
















From the firm's store, Tower 20

via Tim Clarke Inc.